Job Description

Department Overview

The Rakuten Travel AI Office is committed to delivering AI that benefits everyone across the travel ecosystem-including travelers, accommodation partners, and industry stakeholders.

Our mission is to enhance the travel experience by leveraging AI to improve search experience, streamline hotel operations, and advance personalization and recommendations.

The appeal lies in being able to contribute to creating new standards for "AI × Travel" in an environment where the scale supporting one of Japan's largest travel services coexists with a developing phase that offers significant room for AI utilization.

Position

Why We Hire

Multiple AI initiatives—such as traveler-focused AI Agents, operational support tools for accommodation partners, search experience optimization, advanced demand forecasting models, and personalization enhancement—are progressing in parallel.

To successfully bring AI-powered solutions into real services and translate them into tangible user and business value, a Project Manager who can bridge the business and technical teams is essential.

As the AI Office continues to expand and project demand grows, we are seeking PMs capable of collaborating with diverse stakeholders and leading value creation across the organization.

Business & Organizational Opportunities

Work on diverse AI themes across one of Japan's largest travel platforms, including search optimization, personalization, and operational efficiency for accommodations
Contribute directly to improving the travel experience using cutting-edge technologies such as NLP, machine learning, and generative AI
Experience both 0→1 and 1→10 phases of AI-driven product development in a fast-growing environment

Role-Specific Appeal

Lead AI projects end-to-end—including planning, requirement definition, development coordination, and impact evaluation
Serve as the bridge between business teams and the AI Office, driving the integration of AI solutions into real services
Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, designers, and business stakeholders in a highly cross-functional environment
Work with substantial autonomy in a culture that values ownership, initiative, and proactive problem-solving

Growth & Career Development

Develop deep expertise in AI implementation and data utilization while enhancing advanced PM capabilities
Build career pathways toward Product Manager, AI program lead, data product roles, and other strategic positions
Leverage Rakuten Group's extensive data assets and ecosystem to execute AI initiatives at a scale rarely seen elsewhere

Position Details

As a Project Manager, you will lead AI projects within the AI Office, driving initiatives from planning and requirement definition to implementation, evaluation, and rollout across business units.

Collecting business requirements, identifying problems, and forming hypotheses
Planning AI-driven features and initiatives utilizing data and machine learning models
Creating project plans, managing schedules, and monitoring risks
Coordinating specifications and implementation with engineers, data scientists, designers, and business stakeholders
Conducting impact evaluation through data and logs, and proposing improvements
Preparing necessary documentation and contributing to project governance

Your role will go beyond project coordination-you will design how AI technology should be applied to which problems in order to maximize business value.

Work Environment

Artificial Intelligence Office: 11 members

Project Team:
PMs, engineers, data scientists, and analysts

Age range:
late 20s to early 40s, with members from diverse nationalities and professional backgrounds
New graduate to mid-career ratio: approx


70% :
30%
A collaborative environment where technical, data, and business expertise intersect

Mid-career joiner backgrounds include

Web consultants (marketing / digital strategy)

Example skillset

Current-state analysis and issue identification through access/log analytics
KPI design and strategic planning
Executing improvement initiatives (site optimization, ads, SNS operations)
Measurement and continuous improvement through PDCA cycles

Career path examples

Gained experience as a Marketing Manager at Rakuten Travel, then transferred to the AI Office.
As a Project Manager for AI projects, led planning, promotion, and improvement proposals.

Mandatory Qualifications

Experience in project management (PM) or equivalent leadership role
Proven ability to manage and drive multiple projects concurrently
Strong communication and consensus-building skills with diverse stakeholders
Ability to structure problems and plan/execute effective solutions
Ability to conduct basic data/log analysis and perform impact evaluation leading to improvement proposals
For candidates with less technical background, strong interest and willingness to deepen understanding of AI/Data domains is essential

Desired Qualifications

Experience working on AI or data utilization projects
Ability to write simple scripts using Python or SQL for data extraction, processing, and validation
Ability to think from the end-user perspective and design service experiences
Experience in marketing, customer support (CS), or other business-side operations

Other Information

Additional information on Location

Rakuten Crimson House

1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Additional Information On English Qualification

TOEIC Score exceeding 800 (or similar level of English ability) or a University Degree earned in an English-speaking country.

Proof of qualifications will be required by the time of the job offer.

If no evidence is available to prove the qualifications denoted above, taking an IP test, organized by Rakuten, during selection process is required.

Rakuten Group, Inc. Homepage Link

• Employment type is detailed

Rakuten

#business #projectmanager #AI #commerce #RakutenTravel
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